#givingtuesday

Remember what the Hill Center used to look like? Photo by María Helena Carey.

You’ve had several days to shop and procure the happiest of holidays for everyone on your list– from your BFF to your picky sister, to that [redacted] girl a few cubicles over who is always giving you the side-eye.

Now it’s time to give back. Dear inventor of Giving Tuesday, you are simply the best (yes, that would be the United Nations, picky mcpickerson). For those of you who are just hearing about it, TODAY is #GivingTuesday, which I hope becomes a tradition just as big as its slimier and more consumerist brothers. It was established to, “create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.”

Here is where we all come in: let’s do #givingtuesday right in our own back yard.

1. Backstage, Inc. The beloved costume shop needs your help. They need to raise $300,000 in order to stay open and continue to be part of the community, for all your ballet slipper and purple wigged needs. Click here to donate to their fund via Indiegogo.

2. Casey Trees. We need trees, and urban trees need us even more. Casey Trees, a tireless supporter of urban tree canopy restoration and education, also needs your help. Click this link to see a video about the amazing work they do, and donate.

3. Your local schools. I know we are not all parents, but the tired cliché about investing in our kids is like investing in the future is true. And as our neighborhood expands and includes more children who need to be educated, giving to a local school is a good way to make sure a new generation of people is raised well, and reduces fist-shaking in old age. Here are a few local schools’ links to get you started. Remember: giving is not all about money.

• SWS at Logan Annex
• Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan School
• Capitol Hill Cluster School
• Two Rivers Public Charter School
• Brent Elementary School
• Maury Elementary School
• Tyler Elementary School
• Eastern High School
• Eliot-Hine Middle School

4. Your local church. This is a paragraph not to guilt you into going to church, but to remind you that churches are a vital part of the community and that they, too, need help. I will leave the denomination up to you and just provide a handy map.

5. The arts. We need engineers and accountants and doctors for the basic needs and comforts. We need art because it nourishes us from the inside. Give to local art bastions such as CHAW, Joy of Motion, Atlas Performing Arts Center and new kid on the block, Hill Center, and let someone’s soul be enriched.

Have a suggestion for #givingtuesday? Share it in the comments.

Enjoy giving.